The Lakers can sign Alex Caruso 2.0 in free agency this summer

There was a lot wrong with the Los Angeles Lakers this season that resulted in the team having the most disappointing season in franchise history. It all stems from the Russell Westbrook trade, which was easily the worst decision any NBA team made last summer.

One of the dominoes that fell after the Westbrook trade last summer was the departure of Alex Caruso. Caruso signed a four-year, $37 million contract with the Chicago Bulls and gave the Lakers a chance to re-sign him for a similar price.

The Lakers passed on bringing Caruso back because of luxury tax implications. Los Angeles essentially chose to sign Talen Horton-Tucker over Caruso only to shop THT (and not get any biters) at the deadline.

Los Angeles struggled on defense, especially on the perimeter. Having Caruso would have made a difference and now the Lakers need to try and find another impact perimeter defender that can replace what Caruso brought to the team. Luckily, there is a cheap free-agent option that can do just that.

Kris Dunn can be Alex Caruso 2.0 for the Los Angeles Lakers.

“Alex Caruso 2.0” might be a bit of a stretch as that indicates that Kris Dunn would be better for the Lakers than Caruso was and that probably won’t be the case. However, Dunn can come in and have a similar impact as Caruso, so long that he returns to form.

Dunn was one of the best defensive guards in the entire league three years ago and that earned him a two-year, $10 million contract. However, Dunn has not been able to stay healthy and last season he had to resort to only getting to play in the league on 10-day contracts.

He will undoubtedly be available for cheap and he should be someone who the Lakers target to bring a solid presence on the defensive end. While he has not reached his defensive ceiling in a few years, he is still only 28 years old and can re-gain that form.

The six-foot-three point guard posted a 3.1 defensive box plus/minus with the Chicago Bulls during the 2019-20 season. For comparison’s sake, that was the third-best DBPM in the entire league that season and was tied with Matisse Thybulle for the best number among guards. Caruso was ninth that season with a 2.4 DBPM.

Dunn averaged an incredible 2.9 steals per 36 minutes that season and has a career average of 2.3 steals per 36 minutes. Caruso, meanwhile, has a career average of 2.0 steals per 36 minutes.

Dunn is a bit limited offensively (as Caruso was earlier in his career) but the Lakers can patch that up if he can show the ability to start hitting shots as an off-ball shooter. He is the perfect point guard mold to put next to LeBron James as he is not someone who actually facilitates and needs to run the offense and he can instead turn most of his effort to the defensive side.

Most minimum players in free agency can shoot threes but cannot play a lick of defense. It would be nice for the Lakers to sign the opposite of that, getting someone who can play high-level defense for the team. And even if it is not at his elite level, it will still be a lot better than what the Lakers will get otherwise.